ORLANDO, Fla. — Vice President Kamala Harris publicly responded to a letter from Gov. Ron DeSantis in a speech in Orlando on Tuesday.
Harris said she will not be meeting with Governor Ron DeSantis to discuss Florida’s new African American History standards. She said meeting with DeSantis would “legitimize” the debate she called “unnecessary.”
“There’s no roundtable. There’s no lecture, no invitation, we will not accept to debate an undeniable fact. There were no redeeming qualities of slavery,” Harris said to a crowd of hundreds applauding her.
Amidst a political battle with Florida’s governor, Harris spoke at the 20th Quadrennial Convention of Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church at the Orange County Convention Center.
Tuesday’s speech was a continuation of the political battle between the governor and vice president.
Less than two weeks ago, the vice president was in Jacksonville where she called the standards “propaganda.”
“They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us in an attempt to divide and distract our nation with unnecessary debates,” Harris said in the speech about Florida’s new history standards.
In a letter sent Monday, the governor invited Harris to meet with him in Tallahassee along with a member of the African American History Standards work group, Dr. William Allen. The invite was to discuss the standards, including the controversial line DeSantis is standing by about how “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
DeSantis claimed in the letter that Florida is the number one state in the nation for education because the state returned to the fundamentals of teaching, eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion in school administrations and rooted out “Critical Race Theory” from Florida’s classrooms.
“So, let’s have the debate. Let’s dispense with narratives. We’re ready to roll,” DeSantis said in a campaign stop in New Hampshire Tuesday morning.
The vice president’s message Tuesday centered on how faith has guided African Americans through times of struggle.
“Faith has the power to shine a light on those living in darkness to guide our feet in the path of peace. In moments of uncertainty and confusion, when the way is not clear, it is faith that guides us forward,” Harris said.
Video: Vice President Kamala Harris plans to travel to Orlando on Tuesday Vice President Kamala Harris is preparing to travel to Orlando. (WFTV)
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Through the years In this June 18, 2004, file photo San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris poses for a portrait in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Through the years San Francisco's new police chief George Gascon, at podium, is applauded after being introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom, right, during an introduction and news conference at City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 17, 2009. At left is San Francisco district attorney Kamala Harris and second from left is Theresa Sparks, president of the San Francisco police commission. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Through the years San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris responds to questions on the ongoing investigation of evidence tampering in the city's crime lab in San Francisco, Friday, April 23, 2010. Deborah Madden, a crime technician in the lab, is being accused of skimming cocaine evidence from the lab, compromising hundreds of cases. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Through the years Kamala Harris and Rocky Delgadillo stand at the conclusion of a debate among the Democratic candidates for California Attorney General, at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, May 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Through the years San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, right, Democratic candidate for Attorney General of California, serves union members at a Labor Day Breakfast at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
Through the years California Attorney General Kamala Harris gives her first news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. Republican Steve Cooley conceded the California attorney general's race to Democrat Harris last week, giving Democrats a sweep of all statewide offices and ushering in the first woman and first minority elected to the post. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Through the years Attorney General Kamala Harris , right with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, speaks at a news conference regarding criminal and civil responses to mortgage fraud in Los Angeles Monday, May 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Through the years In this June 16, 2011 file photo, Attorney General Kamala Harris looks over some of the guns seized from individuals legally barred from possessing them following a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. The state Assembly approved bill from state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, authorizes $24 million over three years to expand California's one-of-a-kind program to seize guns from felons, the mentally unstable and others prohibited from owing them. The bill approved, Thursday, April 18,2013 was sent to the Senate for final approval. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)
Through the years California Attorney General Kamala Harris, left, poses with Children's Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman at the 21st Annual Beat the Odds Awards, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hosted by the Children's Defense Fund-California, the event honored Los Angeles-area high school students who overcame personal obstacles to achieve academic excellence. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Through the years Former President Barack Obama is greeted by, from left, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and California Attorney General Kamala Harris upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Through the years In this photo taken Monday, April 16, 2012, Attorney General Kamala Harris discusses her package of banking reform bills intended to protect homeowners in the foreclosure process, during a hearing of the Assembly banking and finance committee at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Through the years Co-Chairs of the Rules Committee, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley stand as Democratic National Committee Chair, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) speaks during day one of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 4, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Through the years California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Through the years California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow, second from left, and Attorney General Kamala Harris, place a wreath honoring those CHP officers killed in the line of duty on the CHP Memorial as Gov. Jerry Brown, right, looks on during ceremonies at the CHP academy in West Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The name of CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom, who was shot and killed in Sept. of 2012, was added to the memorial. Also seen are former CHP Commissioners Glen Craig, left, and Spike Helmick, background third from left.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Through the years Sandy Stier, center left, and Kris Perry, at right, exchange wedding vows in front of California Attorney General Kamala Harris, left, at City Hall in San Francisco, Friday, June 28, 2013. Stier and Perry, the lead plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban, tied the knot about an hour after a federal appeals court freed same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses for the first time in 4 1/2 years. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Through the years Kamala Harris arrives at the 45th NAACP Image Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Arnold Turner/Invision/AP)
Through the years Kamala Harris, left, and Douglas Emhoff arrive at the 24th Annual Beat The Odds Awards on Thursday, Dec. 04, 2014, in Culver City, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Through the years California Attorney General Kamala Harris takes the oath of office from California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye as her husband, Douglas Emhoff, looks on at the Crocker Art Museum Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, in Sacramento, Calif. Harris touted her fight against organized human trafficking after being sworn in to her second four-year term as California's top law enforcement official. Among the brightest Democratic stars, Harris was widely expected to be preparing for a run for governor or U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Through the years Attorney Douglas Emhoff, left, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris arrive at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Through the years San Bernardino Sheriff's Corporal Rafael Ixco is congratulated by Attorney General Kamala Harris, after Gov. Jerry Brown, center, presented him with the Governor's Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. Ixco was one of several law enforcement officers honored for their actions in the terrorist attack at a San Bernardino government building that left 14 dead and 22 wounded in December 2015. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Through the years Senator-elect Kamala Harris addresses the media as she meets with immigrant families and their advocates to discuss the election results and the nation's future at The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. Harris said she will fight to preserve protections advocates fear could be dismantled once Donald Trump becomes president. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Through the years U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) participates in a reenacted swearing-in with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in the Old Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol January 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. Earlier in the day Biden swore in the newly elected and returning members on the Senate floor. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)
Through the years Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during the Women's March on Washington, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Through the years Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 28, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The news conference, which worked with the National Council of La Raza, discussed whose parents had been deported (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
Through the years Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) listens during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing concerning threats to the homeland, September 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. The committee and witnesses discussed both the threat from global terrorism as well as domestic terrorism. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Through the years Pro-Trump supporters attend an event as Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) gives a speech at a Dream Act (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) rally in the Student Center at University of California Irvine October 11, 2017 In Irvine, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Through the years Senator Kamala Harris speaks at the Families Belong Together - Freedom For Immigrants March at Los Angeles City Hall on June 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sarah Morris/Getty Images)
Through the years Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduces a bill to reunify immigrant families during a news conference with (L-R) Kids in Need of Defense President Wendy Young, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. The Democratic senators introduced the Reunite Act and said it is designed to make sure the United States government does not have to legal ability to separate immigrant children from their parents. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Through the years Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry greets Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as they arrive at the Washington National Cathedral for the funeral service for the late Senator John McCain, September 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. Former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush delivered eulogies for McCain in front of the 2,500 invited guests.(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Through the years The Rev. Al Sharpton (L) talks with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) during a post-midterm election meeting of Sharpton's National Action Network in the Kennedy Caucus Room at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill November 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Through the years U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) waves to her supporters with her husband, Douglas Emhoff and her niece, Amara Ajagu, 2, during her presidential campaign launch rally in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on January 27, 2019, in Oakland, California. Twenty thousand people turned out to see the Oakland native launch her presidential campaign in front of Oakland City Hall. (Photo by Mason Trinca/Getty Images)
Through the years U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) waves to her supporters during her presidential campaign launch rally in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on January 27, 2019, in Oakland, California. Twenty thousand people turned out to see the Oakland native launch her presidential campaign in front of Oakland City Hall. (Photo by Mason Trinca/Getty Images)
Through the years US Senator Kamala Harris speaks onstage at The Human Rights Campaign 2019 Los Angeles Gala Dinner at JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE on March 30, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for The Human Rights Campaign )
Through the years WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - NOVEMBER 07: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris takes the stage at the Chase Center before President-elect Joe Biden's address to the nation November 07, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. After four days of counting the high volume of mail-in ballots in key battleground states due to the coronavirus pandemic, the race was called for Biden after a contentious election battle against incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Through the years WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 29: Registered Nurse Patricia Cummings administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at the United Medical Center on December 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. This is the Vice President-elect's first of two doses of the Moderna vaccine which was given emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration less than two weeks ago. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Through the years SAVANNAH, GEORGIA - JANUARY 03: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris speaks during a drive-in rally at Garden City Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Savannah, Georgia. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris joined Georgia Democratic Senate candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff for a campaign event two days before the January 5th runoff election that has implications into which party controls the U.S. Senate. According to AJC, 3 million people have already casted their votes ahead of Tuesday's election. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) (Michael M Santiago/GettyImages/Getty Images)
Through the years U.S. President Joe Biden greets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris he finished delivering the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol’s House Chamber March 01, 2022 in Washington, DC. During his first State of the Union address Biden spoke on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, efforts to curb inflation and bringing the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images) (AL DRAGO/Getty Images)
Through the years Former President Barack Obama hugs Vice President Kamala Harris during an event to mark the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on April 5, 2022 in Washington, DC. With then-Vice President Joe Biden by his side, Obama signed 'Obamacare' into law on March 23, 2010. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Through the years U.S. President Joe Biden (R) reacts as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (C) delivers remarks during an event celebrating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court on the South Lawn of the White House on April 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. Judge Jackson was confirmed by the Senate 53-47 and is set to become the first Black woman to sit on the highest court. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Through the years U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (C) delivers remarks to members of Vandenberg Space Force Base at Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 18, 2022 in Lompoc, California. Harris delivered the remarks after meeting with members of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command as part of her duties as chair of the National Space Council. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.
